Crochet help please

That's how I do it. Putting the hook through only one side of the V is used for a decorative effect, sometimes for making a sort of ribbing.

sue

welcome Kate

if you add 1ch 1dc to each double crochet you have a possible double amount of stitches to work on next row ,,,or a kind of loop ? what are you making ? a straight piece doesn`t need that a round does ???

each dc forms a v ,, have to look ,, ? when you work into dc it means to catch the 2 upper lines of the stitch that lays on top of former row , it is a bit aside off the under st of it . mirjam

thanks both for your replies. Hi Mirjam -yes, I see what you mean about 1ch 1dc forming twice the number of stitches, I think that solves my next question, which is that for the next row it tells me to crochet into the gap formed between each dc .....! So now I know what that means too! thanks again

I'm sure they mean to just work one chain at the beginning of the row and then one dc into each stitch of the row. The chain "raises" the starting point to the level of the next row,

Most people work 2 ch a the beginning of the row when doing double crochet, and the 2 ch substitute for the 1st dc, so you would work dc into all the rest of the stitches, but not the 1st stitch. When you finish you should have the same number of stitches as the previous row, counting the 2 ch as one stitch. Try it this way and see how it looks.

The hook is usually placed under the two horizontal pieces of thread at the top of the stitch. It sounds like that's what you're doing. If you place it just under the back of the stitch, or just under the front, it creates a different effect. Sometimes patterns tell you to do this. When crocheting into the 2 ch that counted as the first stitch on the previous row, it's sometimes a bit difficult to see just where to put the hook. Just try to be consistent.

HI Kate

you may find these videos handy:

SandyUK

Thanks guys for all your help, and thanks too for the pointer to the videos, they were great. I need all the help I can get, I am an English person living in Australia trying to teach myself crochet using an American book......I get easily confused ....! Kate

kate English and American crochet terms aren`t the same = same name different heights ... mirjam

It might help if we knew what you are making; just a practice swatch or something else? The fact that you told us that it's an American book already helps. What is the name of the book? As Miriam said, American and English terminology are different.

When you make a dc, do they tell you to wrap the yarn around the hook before inserting it in the stitch? That's how an American dc is made. An English dc is made just by inserting the hook in the next stitch, without wrapping the yarn around the hook first.

I have bought books published in the US that actually used the British terminology, so it's best to be sure what type of terminology they use.

Kate

If you are familiar with English/British crochet terms, you could be making the stitches incorrectly. What the English/British call a double crochet the Americans call a single crochet. I think what Americans call a double crochet E/B call a triple or treble. I'm not certain since it's been a long time since I've looked at the differences between E/B terms and American, and I crochet American.

Also, if you post exactly what the instructions say, it would help us help you better. If you do post the instructions for the row you're having trouble with, please include any parenthesis or "repeat from * to *" notations.

Leah